


you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

by roastedsunflowerseeds



Series: ranboo-centric fics [4]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Confrontations, Could Be Canon, Disguise, Implied Possession, Journaling, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), The Crimson Egg, no beta we die like friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29612841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roastedsunflowerseeds/pseuds/roastedsunflowerseeds
Summary: “I’ve been thinking,” Ranboo started. Techno paused, nodding in a sense to tell him to continue. “You know the Egg? Yeah, well, I’ve sorta been thinking that maybe- nevermind.” He faltered mid-sentence, shaking his head.Techno froze, turning to Ranboo. “You weren’t about to say the Egg was good, right? I- I don’t need my protégé to go through a villain arc.”“...No. No, uh, no need to worry! I- wouldn’t.”OrRanboo is acting suspiciously, and Techno discovers why.--Friendly reminder that this fic is about their rp characters and not the ccs themselves. If either of them are uncomfortable with fics like this, I'll take it down.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: ranboo-centric fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158977
Comments: 9
Kudos: 238





	you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

A sort of faux serenity had settled over the tundra. Faux, because the Dream SMP was never truly at peace, only moments of stillness with tension building towards the inevitable, raging storm. It always hit hard and there was never enough time to recover before the next would come. There was always something on the members’ minds, no matter how much they’d try to hide it.

Despite the fakeness of the tranquility, Techno was determined to enjoy it in some way. It was hard to ignore the eggpire growing steadily in the background, but he was willing to forget about it for at least an hour. However restless and bloodthirsty it made the voices wasn’t Techno’s problem.

The other inhabitants of the tundra seemed to agree with this unspoken decision, not mentioning their own problems no matter how unhealthy that was. None of them mentioned the egg incident that had happened before, Phil didn’t question any further about it, at least for the moment.

Techno had heard of Ranboo’s infamous memory book of course and had begrudgingly decided to try and start a journal. It wasn’t for any real reason except out of curiosity and boredom. So he sat with a quill in hand and a small book in front of him, trying to think of something to write down.

Ranboo pushed the door open, walking into Techno’s house with a sense of franticness He was donning a new pair of sunglasses that blocked his eyes. Techno glanced up, tilting his head.

“Hey, Ranboo- wh- why do you have sunglasses?” Techno asked, slightly suspicious. Ranboo froze for a moment and shrugged. “Well- it doesn’t freak me out as much when people look into my eyes. I just thought of it recently.” He explained hastily. 

**Suspicious** , some of Techno’s voices called. He ignored them.

“Why don’t you just ask people not to look into your eyes? Problem solved with just a few words.” Techno questioned, to which Ranboo just shook his head and sighed. “People usually don’t listen. It’s more convenient anyways.”

Techno raised an eyebrow as Ranboo quickly crouched down and start looking through his chests with a sort of thinly veiled panic. “You’re aware those are not your chests, right?” 

Ranboo nodded, still shuffling through the chests. “Yeah, I’m just- stealing.” 

“Heh-?”  
  
“I’m stealing. From your chests. Because... I want to.” Ranboo repeated awkwardly, slowing as he stole(?) from Techno’s chests.

“You know if you lost something, you can just tell me that,” Techno said, slightly confused but amused. Ranboo shook his head, nervously laughing as he added, “Oh no, I just want to steal from you. For the sake of thievery.” He paused, shakily grabbing a few potions. “See? Thievery. I’m stealing.”

 _Something’s up._ Techno decided. The voices agreed, filling his head with suspicions. He didn’t mention these suspicions, however.

Ranboo closed the last chest he looked through. “I- I have to go now, bye, it was nice- er- stealing from you.” He ran out as quickly as he’d come in, just leaving Techno more confused.

Techno glanced back down at the journal he’d decided to start a few minutes ago. _I suppose I could just write about my suspicions for the day._ He dipped his quill in ink, wrote down the date, and started writing.

_Ranboo was acting suspiciously. He was wearing sunglasses and said it was so people wouldn’t bother him as much when they looked him in the eyes, which isn’t too suspicious I suppose but it’s something to note. Chat had agreed with me, although the tone was generally more concerned than anything._

_He started looking through my chests rather frantically, and claimed he was stealing because 'he wanted to.’ I don’t see why he would. He could just ask me. Something is definitely wrong._

Techno closed the journal. He’d look into it tomorrow.

* * *

_I haven’t seen Ranboo in a few days. He just came back now._

_A black and white mask was added to the pair of sunglasses. When I asked, Ranboo just responded: “It looks cool.” Normally I wouldn’t be suspicious of things like that. A lot of people on this server have their own little quirks; hell, I myself have a pig mask. However, it’s strange when paired with the events from yesterday. He seemed rather uncomfortable wearing it, too._

_Chat agrees with me. I know Chat isn’t a very trustworthy source a lot of the time, but when it comes to things happening to other members they seem to know what they’re doing. (Most of the time, anyway.) Chat appears to be omniscient, but parts of what they say sometimes get blocked out or drowned out by a wave of ‘No snitching.’ They have a strange system._

_Almost the entire time while Ranboo was gone Chat was chanting_ **_Save Ranboo_** _and_ **Protect Ranboo**. Yet none of them were giving me any straight answers.

_I suspect that the Egg has something to do with it. Ranboo_ **_did_ ** _say that he heard the Egg’s voice and all of this started after that mess. Egg or not, something is definitely wrong._

* * *

“I’ve been thinking,” Ranboo started. Techno paused, nodding in a sense to tell him to continue. “You know the Egg? Yeah, well, I’ve sorta been thinking that maybe- nevermind.” He faltered mid-sentence, shaking his head. 

Techno froze, turning to Ranboo. “You weren’t about to say the Egg was good, _right_? I- I don’t need my protégé to go through a villain arc.” 

“...No. No, uh, no need to worry! I- wouldn’t.” 

Techno’s head immediately filled with doubts and concern from Chat. 

**NONONONONO-**

**He visited the Egg a few hours after you met with Bad**

**Ranboo villain arc pog?**

“I’m not quite sure about that, Ranboo,” Techno said cautiously, reaching for his sword. “The voices say you’ve visited the Egg recently, is that true?” Ranboo hesitated, and Techno felt his heart drop.

“Yes, but-” Ranboo paused. “Listen, the Egg is what’s _best_ for this server-”

“No, it’s not- You’ve been infected, it’s a _cult_. You’re practically in a cult.” Techno interrupted Ranboo. 

“See, I- I knew you’d say that. You don’t understand.” Ranboo shook his head. “That’s okay. The Egg will take over soon. You’ll see. You’ll see.”

 _The mask- the glasses... Did he change like Ant and Bad-?_  
  
“Take off your mask and your glasses,” Techno demanded sharply, masked panic rising. Ranboo hesitated and then just shrugged. 

“Alright,” He started, removing his sunglasses and mask. “It’s not like I have anything to hide.” 

Techno stared in horror. Gone were Ranboo’s normal multi-colored eyes, instead replaced by glowing white eyes, akin to those he had heard about in myths about Herobrine. Small, red scales dotted the sides of his face, which had been well hidden by the mask. Maybe it was Techno’s eyes playing tricks on him, but he swore Ranboo’s teeth were sharper and more pointed.

Words failed him. Dejection, horror, and guilt set in. Guilt. Techno was guilty. He should’ve noticed. He should’ve realized. He should’ve helped Ranboo, one of the few people he cared about- but _no_ , he didn’t do anything, and now it was too late.

“Ranboo- what happened to you?” The last part came out softer and more vulnerable than Techno wanted it to. “Just a week or so ago you agreed with me, you knew that the Egg was bad- but now you’re infected?” Techno shook his head. “You were supposed to be the main character, not the villain.” He joked weakly.

“Sorry for the disappointment,” Ranboo said apathetically. “The Egg is what this server needs, and if it has to be perceived as the villain- then that’s fine.”

_You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain._

“But _please_ believe me. I don’t want you to be the Egg’s enemy when it takes over.” Ranboo pleaded softly. Techno shook his head. 

“You’re choosing sides- you’re _choosing sides_ , isn’t not being involved your whole thing? Isn’t being neutral what you’re known for? Why would you do this? This goes against everything you’ve stood for.” He shot back.

“It’s not like I’m actively fighting for the Egg. I just agree with it. Because it’s right. I mean, I’ve been staying here this whole time- you could argue that _this_ is a side.” 

“You’re- you’re not making sense, Ranboo. The Egg isn’t going to win. The Egg is just going to be another government to destroy, another problem, another _conflict_ -”

“And I can stop that. I can _help_ people understand why the Egg is good. You could think of me as a mediator.”

Techno felt his heart sink. He could tell that even before now, Ranboo had thought about this. Techno had failed, he failed to protect the people he cared about, he failed.  
  
He shook his head. “That’s- that’s not healthy. That’s too much pressure on yourself-”  
  
“I can take it. It’s what this server needs.”  
  
“Ranboo,” Techno cut in sharply, “if you’re going to do this then- get off of my property.”

Ranboo seemed struck, as if in shock, sadness shining through. But he almost seemed to understand, almost like he’d seen this coming, almost like he’d seen it coming from the very beginning when Phil had offered him a place to stay. Techno felt the regret immediately, and Chat immediately chorused in with a cacophony of **NOOOOO** s.  
  
“...Okay.” He rapidly blinked away tears, voice barely above a whisper. “You’ll- you’ll understand later. This is fine- I- okay.” Ranboo’s tail swept in between his legs. 

Techno let out a small sigh.  
  
“The Egg isn’t going to win.”

Ranboo hesitated, shaking his head. “..Goodbye, Techno. I- I hope to see you later.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is a series. will make a sequel in ranboo's pov :)


End file.
